The new Justice League trailer premiered yesterday at the New York Comic Con. If you haven’t seen it, here it is:

The trailer starts off with some quick shots of the heroes and cuts to the logo.

We then see Lois Lane apparently having a dream about Superman returning to her.

For some reason, these movies seem to love their dream sequences. It seems as if the decades-long tradition of Imaginary Stories and Elseworlds from the comics has seeped into their movie universe. While I like those stories in the comics, if you have to rely on that to have something cool in your movie, maybe rethink the movie you are making. There is also talk of dreams in the trailer, so it’s possible that someone’s dreams are premonitions of events to come. If that’s the case, why did we have to wait so long for that to be used as a storytelling device? If it is at all.

Next there is a voice over of reporters implying that hope is lost with the death of Superman.

Again, how is the man who tore up a city and snapped General Zod’s neck a symbol of hope in this world? In the comics, sure. Here it makes no sense. I am really tired of them trying to shoe horn this into their story. They clearly wanted it both ways. A dark gritty superhero, but someone who could be an inspiration when he was gone.

Even his defeat of Doomsday, when he sacrificed himself doesn’t help with this. Doomsday was a Kryptonian threat that wouldn’t have endangered Metropolis if Superman hadn’t been around. Most people would hold him responsible for what happened.

It does look like there will be some great action scenes in this. What I am guessing are invading forces from Apokolips facing off against the Amazons.

With the success of Wonder Woman, it makes sense to play up her role in this. Plus, it gives the good guys an army that could play into a large-scale battle.

Another interesting thing that’s new in this trailer is this shot of Parademons apparently emerging from a cooling tower at a nuclear power plant.

My inference from this would be that they are trying to instigate a meltdown in the hopes of creating a firepit on Earth, like those on Apokolips. This has been a recurring goal with them in the comics.

“Bro Aquaman” is here as well. While there seems to have been mixed reactions to this online, I am totally fine with it. Growing up through the “grim and gritty” era of comic books, I have had my fill of reluctant heroes. To see one that enjoys what he is doing is a relief. Especially given the previous trailers’ darker tone. Not everyone needs to be moody.

Speaking of tone, this seems to be the first trailer where we are getting Joss Whedon’s input in the movie. It does seem a little lighter than the other trailers. Also, the heroes seem to be having a better time and are now allowed to smile.

Does Aquaman have his armor tattooed on him?

Batman seems to be the only hero who doesn’t get to smile. Perhaps they are instituting the old edict from the Batman comics where he never smiles. The flipside to that was, whenever this dark avenger of the night did crack a smile, you knew it was on. It was always super effective (or bat-effective).

The disappointing part of this is that these shots appear like they may have been reshoots that were dropped into the movie. Hopefully, they are more fluid in the movie than they appear to be here. Notably, this trailer end with Flash making a joke about the Batsignal that genuinely made me laugh. Something that I was not expecting.

Surprisingly, aside from Lois’ dream there is no other shots of Superman in this. By now, it’s sort of a given that he will be returning in this. Rumors of what part he is playing in the story seem to indicate he will be resurrected and fight the League, but nothing has been confirmed. A tease of the “S” logo or something similar at the end would have been expected. Maybe they will keep a lid on this until the premier, but more than likely this seems like something that will get spoiled at the last minute by a Lego set or the like.

Whatever behind the scenes issues may be happening, fingers crossed that we still get a good movie. At the end of the day, I have been a Justice League fan for most of my life and I want something good. I will definitely be “All In” for a great Justice League movie.

P.S. let’s hope Cyborg gets at least one good “Booyah” in this. Maybe like how Hugh Jackman kept trying to sneak in “Bub” into the first X-Men movie.

While I’ve started writing on here again, I’ve also been sketching a few things intermittently. None of these are what I would call finished pieces. More like trying to work out a concept or exorcising and idea. Here are a few of the things I’ve been drawing.

This is a Superman costume concept. I suppose it’s inspired by J.J. Abrams’ Superman: Flyby script from several years back. I wondered what that suit would have looked like.

Similarly, here is an Aquaman costume. Not a huge departure just something I thought of and wanted to get down on paper.

Here is a Batman cowl idea. Batman’s eyes were originally drawn blank to imply that they were “glowing”. In 2017, with the conceit of lenses in his cowl, there is no reason that they can’t literally glow. The ridges on the neck are to imply a segmented armor piece. Also, with the invention of Vantablack, there is no reason for the dark segments of his suit to reflect any light. Hence, the lack of detail in the cowl with the exception of the eyebrows which I felt would be necessary to emote. John Byrne drew Batman’s black costume sections as a negative black back in the ’80s and Mark Buckingham drew some great eyebrows on him back during his run.

The announcement of Mark Bagely coming back to draw Venom inspired this. Venom: Lethal Protector is a great comic.

This one is an original character I drew awhile ago, called Slimekeeper. He’s more of a Masters of the Universe type character.

I was trying out a marker to see how it worked and so I drew this real sketchy Venom the other day. Real quick and I liked the way it came out.

Last, here’s another Batman. Not sure why I did this one. Probably thinking more about the eyes again.

Some of these have been posted on my twitter account previously, but I’m don’t think there’s too much overlap with my followers there and here so I decided I’d post these here also. I’ve also included some new ones here too.

Again, none of these are completed pieces. Not too much went into layout and preliminary steps so I’m aware anatomy/proportions are off in some. Mostly, this process is for getting a concept out of my head onto paper.

Let me know what you think here or on my Twitter account @detective651.

If you’ve been following this blog you”ll know that you haven’t had anything to follow for a while. One of the things I was working on in the interim is designing a new sign and window graphics for my local comic shop, Campus Comics.

Last year Campus Comics came under new ownership and Mike Noe, the new owner, determined a new sign was needed. His daughter Sarah designed a new logo for the store and Mike consulted with me on a sign.

This is what resulted.

I created a sign utilizing the new logo and added a background to match some of the other marketing created for the store. We also produced a smaller NoeMan’s Land sign to promote the owner’s online presence.

For contrast, here is the comic shop’s previous sign used for the last several years.

We decided a more colorful sign was necessary to attract attention from the busy street the store is on and also to set it apart from the other stores in the shopping center.

Utilizing the busy street was also the thought behind the graphics for the windows.

This is the store when the window graphics were installed before the new sign.

There was a desire to grab people’s’ attention as they sped by and clearly state “we have comics here.” White logos were used to stand out from the dark windows and provide a unity to the various designs.

I decide to enlarge the logos to the extent that some of them run off the windows to grab the eye. The Superman “S” is very recognizable to the point that it is easy to pass by. By cropping parts of the logos they stand out as “not being right.” Chip Kidd used a similar technique when he redesigned the trade dress for the Batman books back in 2000. By placing the DC logo in the corner and truncated, it stood out way more than it did on the plethora of other covers it was on then.

So yeah, I’m on par with Chip Kidd, basically.

Below is a banner I created also to be used at conventions for the store.

Here it is at this year’s Salem Comic and Toy Expo in Salem, IL.

The main idea here was to create a banner that tied into what had been done for the store signage.

All in all, I am pretty pleased with the way all of these turned out. More so, than my typical work that is beaten to death by clients’ “input.” The response to these has been overwhelmingly positive, or as far as I know it has. Unless everyone is lying to me to my face.

Customers who haven’t been in a while are typically taken aback by the improved look of the store now and I knew it would start with how the store looked on the outside.

At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con we got our first look at footage from the upcoming Justice League movie.

Thankfully, learning from last year’s issues, Warner Bros. decided to upload the clip to the internet. Thereby bypassing all the low-res cell phone footage we all would have watched while they made up their minds on how to react.

If you’ve been too busy watching Stranger Things, here it is.

At the beginning of the trailer is this disclaimer.

That’s great. Be upfront that this isn’t finished. Let’s all get on the same page and enjoy some Justice League. While watching it’s apparent that this isn’t a movie that’s finished with all it’s effects shots in place. That’s ok. Be happy we’re getting a look at a movie that’s a year away.

BATMAN

Yeah, Batfleck is back! He looks pissed chucking that batarang at Not Grant Gustin. The story seems to revolve around him gathering the League in the wake of Superman’s death in BVS. You know, like he said he was going to do at the end of the movie.

Affleck’s Batman is sure to be a high point of this movie. After the reaction to his part in BVS, the only issue could be that he gets too much screen time and some of the newer characters get the short end of this ensemble.

It’s hard for me to pinpoint, but the costume looks a little different here. By now I should expect costumes to alter by outing, but it still surprises me sometimes. With the great costume he donned in BVS, it’s sort of “if it’s not broke…” However, there could be a story element of him going up against larger threats with the Justice League and so he has to adapt.

WONDER WOMAN

Like Batman, sure to be a highlight of this cinematic adventure. With Gadot stealing the show in BVS, she is sure to get some great scenes in this one. Here’s hoping for some more character development, but that’s probably going to be taken care of in her solo outing.

CYBORG

If you told me when I was 9 that someday I would see Cyborg in a live-action movie, I would be pumped. Not much of him in this “not-really-a-trailer”, but that’s understandable. Every shot of him is going to involve CGI, so there’s sure to be a lot more to come. Can’t wait to see him unleashed and kicking ass.

FLASH

Ezra Miller, a.k.a. Not Grant Gustin has an uphill battle here. There’s already a Flash that people know and love. He’s going to have to work harder here to get people to forget about TV Barry Allen and get them excited about his character. Not that it can’t be done, but is “loser Barry” the way to accomplish it? If they set him up as the p.o.v. character in this group it should help audiences relate to him and hopefully get him over the hump.

The comics have shown that there can be more than 1 Flash, hopefully Justice League shows us that there can be more than 1 live-action one, also.

AQUAMAN

Oh boy, this trailer wants you to know how much of a badass Aquaman is. He’s a hard-living, hard-drinking, aquatic philanthropist. I know that you can do different takes on characters, but I never thought I would see a live-action Aquaman so clearly based on the 90s harpoon-handed version.

Obviously, they want to get away from the pop culture portrayal of the character that has been around since Super Friends. That’s completely valid. It would be weird if they didn’t. However, why is the closing shot of the clip a “talking to fish” joke? It’s not like he had a cool comeback for it, it just ends. If there is no rebuttal, all it’s going to do is remind people of that.

It’s almost like Aquaman went and grew his hair out and got all tatted-up in a mid life crisis kind of way to be taken seriously after Super Friends. What’s the oceanic equivalent of a Lamborghini?

SUPERMAN

Is not in this trailer. He’s featured prominently in the promotional image, so he’s definitely in here somewhere. Assuredly, the story will involve his coming back from death by Doomsday. No way are they doing a Justice League film without the Man of Steel.

THE LOGO

Simpler than I thought it would be. It’s bold and stands out. Probably by the time of the movie’s release, there will be a more overly-rendered version of this popping up on all the merchandise. Not sure what to think of that star placement. It’s eye catching, but I’m not sure if it’s for the right reasons. It might get my attention because it’s in such an awkward location.

Overall, I like this “trailer”, but I’m not as excited about this as I should be. I’ve wanted a Justice League movie for decades. Perhaps it’s just the unfinished nature of the footage. I have a lot higher expectations for the full “real” trailer that will be released.

It’s good, but it doesn’t give me the “I CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS!” feeling a Justice League movie inevitably should have.

Starting off with this cover. I don’t know what it is, but if I squint, it almost looks like a Mike Wieringo cover. I’m sure it’s just and odd coincidence, but if Tony Daniel said that he somehow did this over a Wieringo layout, I would not be surprised.

Inside, we are presented a story written and drawn by Bryan Hitch. I haven’t been picking up his Justice League of America book, so it’s been awhile since I’ve seen interiors by Hitch. However, since he is taking over the main Justice League title, surely that is a testament to the work he has been doing on that series.

As much as I like the Justice League and Hitch, the villain of this issue throws me off. It’s already been noted online that this new threat, the Reaper is similar to the Reapers in the Mass Effect videogame series. Seems like a weird choice and peculiar that no one at DC questioned it. Apathy or ignorance of the similarity?

Later in the issue, smaller creatures come off of the original and start attaching themselves to people. You know, like Starro the Conqueror. About halfway through this comic, I wondered why they didn’t just use Starro. He is the first villain the Justice League fought in their initial appearance. I don’t want to hear any revisionist Appellaxian history.

I’m not sure what you get by using a Reaper instead of Starro? Right now, it seems like they are very similar. There would also be a sense of symmetry with the first Justice League of American adventure by including Starro. If it turns out that the Reaper is an offshoot of Starro, that would make perfect sense.

As noted in yesterday’s article about Superman #2, this League doesn’t yet know Superman or trust him. Again, this is a really novel take on how the world reacts to Superman and something for him to overcome.

Eventually, with the help of Superman, the League repels the Reaper. The Reaper leaves Earth but not before warning of a greater threat that surely we will never hear about ever again.

I’ve always been a big fan of the “Big Seven” version of the Justice League. Now, we are closer to the “Big Eight.” Since the start of the New 52, Martian Manhunter has been replaced on the League with Cyborg. If you are going to replace J’onn J’onzz, I can’t think of anyone better. Cyborg “graduating” to the big leagues is such a great concept and development for the character. Rookie Green Lanterns, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz, take Hal’s spot on this version of the Justice League.

I was on the fence as to whether or not to pick up Justice League. This is a good introduction to this new variation of the team. Tony Daniel is the regular artist on the book, so it will be interesting to see if Bryan Hitch’s writing alone is enough to make this a compelling read. I’ll be sticking around for a while to find out.

After examining the DC Rebirth comics of last month, I’ve decided to slow down and only look at ones of interest to me. I had some pretty mixed feelings about the Superman offerings. On one hand, I’m always up for a good Superman comic. On the other, I wasn’t too impressed with what we got for the first month. This was disconcerting to me since I’m a fan of just about everyone on these creative teams. On the hypothetical paper, these were going to be really good books. On the literal paper, I was left wanting.

Action Comics by Jurgens and Zircher was good and I was on board. A plethora of new concepts were being introduced. However, Zircher’s art looked rushed for issue 2. What we are hearing now about artists already being shuffled on the DC Rebirth bi-weekly books, seems to reveal that something probably fell through. On the whole, I still liked Action, but it’s rare that I pick up Action and not Superman. In fact, I don’t think I ever have.

After a text from a friend asking me how the Superman title was, I decided to give the second issue a chance.

To my surprise, a lot of the issues I had with the first issue are addressed in this issue.

The opening sequence is Superman going to save a submarine with his son Jonathan. The rescue mission is supposed to be a learning experience for Jonathan. During this mission something interesting comes up that I hadn’t considered. As a consequence of New 52 Superman dying and Post-Crisis Superman now being this Earth’s Superman, people don’t know if they can trust this new hero. This is also addressed in Justice League: Rebirth. I suppose because I am so familiar with this version of the character, it didn’t occur to me that it wouldn’t be business as usual when he debuted. Though unexpected, this development should lead to some new stories.

During the rescue, a gigantic sea creature attacks and Superman directs Jonathan to use his heat vision on it. Striking Superman as well as the beast, the reader is shown that there are going to be growing pains with Jonathan learning to master his abilities.

After the battle, Jonathan confesses to his father what became of Goldie in the first issue. Finally! This is my main problem with the last issue. Here it becomes a moment of growth and character development for Jonathan and his family lay Goldie to rest.

Later, when Jonathan is visiting with Kathy the neighbor girl, he falls out of a tree and hits his head. Kathy and her grandfather rush Jonathan home to his family. Clark is uncharacteristically short with the neighbors as he takes his son. The reader understands though, that he doesn’t want a doctor to examine him and reveal their secret. In context of Clark dealing with his neighbor though, it seems like a more modern example of superdickery.

Clark relates to Lois that to diagnose his health, Jonathan needs to be taken to the Fortress of Solitude. At the Fortress, a device shown earlier in the story arrives and starts absorbing resources. On the last page, the device forms into a new manifestation of the Eradicator.

I am a fan of the Reign of the Supermen story from the 90s. Also, of the original version of the Eradicator. With any luck, this will be a return to the first version of the character, and not the convoluted variations that came later. No one wants another Hawkman.

Overall, I was really pleased with this issue. My problems with the first part were addressed. This is more what I expected from creative team of Tomasi, Gleason, and Gray. I will probably stick with this book for a while longer and see what happens. Hopefully, we will get the quality comics these creators do.

Yesterday I heard that Noel Neill, the first live action Lois Lane, had passed away.

She was 95 and had been in various Superman projects over the decades. Aside from the Adventures of Superman, she was also in Invasion USA which was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. In that she starred alongside former Lois Lane, Phyllis Coates.

Only recently, I started to watch her Superman serials. The first in 1948 when she was 17 or 18! This is one of the best serials I’ve watched and she is Lois Lane from the go. If you’ve only seen her Superman tv episodes, look this up and check it out. This is definitely a younger Lois Lane from the tv show.

I had met Noel Neill several times at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL. Since I live about an hour away, I have gone most years I was able. For the majority of those trips, Noel was there. She was always there, with a smile on her face, eagerly greeting every fan she met. After meeting literally hundreds of fans, most people would be worn down by the experience and I have seen some guests there do just that. I can never recall that being the case with her. If it ever got to her, you wouldn’t know it. Every time, I would see her diminutive frame sitting behind a table, beaming.

Who know how many autographs she signed over the years? It’s clearly in the thousands. For years, I didn’t have anything of hers to get signed. I was ecstatic when the George Reeves starring Adventures of Superman finally came out on dvd. Finally, something legit for her to sign.

Naturally, she had not been to the Superman Celebration the past few years. When (if) I’m that age, I probably won’t want to go either. It’s hot out there. After attending for so many years, her absence is notable. The first year she was gone I did wonder where she was. However, the city of Metropolis appreciated her so much that they built a statue of her a few years ago. So, I guess I can still go to Metropolis and see Noel Neill.

This week I am moving forward with the books of the fourth week of DC Rebirth. Today’s issue is Action Comics #958.

Superman’s story from the previous issue is continued here. The first page does a really good recap to get readers up to speed. Following the events of last time, Post-Crisis Superman has revealed himself to the world when Lex Luthor announced that he is the successor to the now departed New 52 Superman. At the scene, another Clark Kent shows up and Doomsday appears! Pretty good cliffhanger.
Here, lot of fighting. Lot of questions being asked. Back home, Lois and Jonathan see the events unfolding on tv. Eventually, Lois turns off the tv, afraid of what Doomsday did to her husband previously.
Back in Metropolis, Jimmy questions “Clark Kent”, convinced that this is the New 52 version that he knows. Clark is adamant that he is not super powered.
Lex and PC Superman fight off Doomsday with Superman eventually flying off with Doomsday into the sky. Doomsday kicks out as in the original Death of Superman story. Is there anyone who read that story that didn’t see that coming? I’m glad it happened, because it would have felt disingenuous, if it did not. However, does Superman not remember that not working before? He did die then, so it’s possible his memory of the event isn’t great.
Doomsday then launches Superman into a nearby helicopter and smashes through an elevated train on his return to the ground. Superman saves the passengers on the train while SuperLex attempts to halt Doomsday. At the end of the issue, Doomsday is holding Lex’s head in his hand as if he’s about to crush it, while the mysterious Mr. Oz looks on.
This is a good issue, but it’s definitely the second part of a presumably 6 part story arc. We get an effective recap, but not much in story progression. The questions from the first part aren’t answered yet. Of course they are sure to be by the end of the story. There is a lot of fighting in this part, but the title isn’t Exposition Comics, even though there is plenty of it. If writer, Dan Jurgens is attempting to outdo his original Death of Superman story, he will need to step up the action, 24 years later. Using this issue as an indicator, I expect plenty of fight scenes over the telling of this tale.
The biggest downside here is artist Patrick Zircher’s work. That’s a shame too, because I am a fan of his and was looking forward to his take on Superman. I follow him on Twitter and have seen evidence that he is really studying up on the man of steel. After a strong first issue, this second installment looks rushed. I am assuming this is a byproduct of the bi-weekly schedule of this title. I had seen before that Tyler Kirkham and Stephen Segovia were supposed to be sharing visual responsibilities. If something fell through, that would explain what happened here.
Now, I’m not saying this is the worst artwork ever or something, it’s not. There is a lot of worse art out there. I have been a fan of Zircher’s really since Mystery Men. This does not feel up to his usual standards though. Hopefully, as schedules get worked out, this will get corrected and everyone can get back on track. Ultimately, I would imagine that Zircher stepped up and got the issue out on time.
Overall, I feel that this is a pretty good issue. It continues the story, but is definitely a middle chapter. I’m interested enough though to see where it goes.

As part of my look at the third week of DC’s Rebirth event, today’s comic is Superman #1.

My local shop was out of the regular cover by Patrick Gleason, so I picked up the variant.

The story starts with Clark at the grave of New 52 Clark Kent, vowing to protect this world as Superman. As he touches the ground he leaves a blue handprint. My guess on this is that this Clark becoming more powerful and may be returning to the power levels that led to Superman Blue of the 90s.

Son of Superman is the title of this story. That title excited me because this issue is by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason and I really like their run on Batman & Robin. I would really enjoy a book about the adventures of Superman and his son, Jonathan.

The focus of this issue is the “Smith” family’s life on their farm, living in secret. Clark saves some animals when their barn catches on fire as Jonathan looks on proudly. The next day the family goes on about their routine and Jonathan runs off to do his chores with his cat, Goldie.

This is where the story takes a turn for me. Goldie, is abducted by a bird that flies off. Jonathan, desperate, lashes out with his heat vision and kills the bird and Goldie. Upset, Jonathan then looks up to see a neighbor girl who has witnessed the event who disappears. Back home, Jonathan does not mention Goldie’s fate and later lies about having seen her.

During supper, the neighbor girl from before shows up with some milk from her family. Kathy, recognizes Jonathan but neither on brings up the incident. Later, Jonathan lashes out at his parents and is sent to his room.

In his room, Jonathan sees that Batman and Wonder Woman have arrived at his house and are talking to his father outside. They see him and his ducks back into his room, hiding. The last page is his father, in costume in his bedroom door saying that Jonathan is coming with him. Despite the sinister look of this page, I am implying that he is being taken for training. Mainly because of this:

Overall, this is a well-made comic book that I enjoyed by creators I appreciate. What I didn’t enjoy and what I never do when it’s shoehorned into a Superman origin is trauma. To be clear, this is an origin story for Jonathan, as Superboy or Son of Superman, or whatever they are going to call him.

Superman does not need traumatic events in his backstory, and neither does his son. The destruction of an entire planet is enough. Now, the entire family are survivors of a dead planet, Post-Crisis Earth. There is no reason for Jonathan to be a cat killer, even accidentally.

You know who needs trauma for their origin and to add fuel to their stories? Batman. Not Superman. This is not a Batman story. Superman is supposed to be bright and hopeful. The fact that he didn’t come clean about it too is another problem. How good of parents are Lois and Clark? Wouldn’t Clark have heard his son screaming when it happened?

I know stories need conflict, but that conflict doesn’t have to come from something like this. Jonathan secretly using his powers and getting himself into trouble would have gotten the story to the same point. Maybe he was flying and crashed into the barn? Perhaps he was out at night and accidentally started the barn fire from earlier in the story? Then, Clark has to save him/put it right and realize that his son needs to be trained in using his abilities. What happens to Goldie seems gratuitous.

I really wanted to like this book as I’m a fan of the creative team and good Superman comics. The rest of the issue was good. Now, I don’t know if I will continue to pick this book up. I’m kind of on the fence now.

I don’t know who will judge Jonathan for Goldie, but only Jack Kirby can judge me.

Continuing my look at the second week of releases from DC’s Rebirth, is today’s Action Comics #957

As with Detective Comics (featured in last Friday’s post), I am thrilled that DC returned Action to its original numbering.

The issue starts with a robbery at a scientific lab. Then a superpowered individual shows up to thwart the crime. This is of course, everyone’s favorite hero and champion of Metropolis, Lex Luthor. Luthor is wearing a “super” suit and claims that he will fill the role left vacant by the now deceased New 52 Superman. I’m like 90% sure Luthor is in this suit so that DC can make an action figure of it in 6 months. It better have a light up “S” if they’re going to do that though.

I’m not sure if that was intentional on artist Patrick Zircher’s part. There have been thousands of Superman comics so of course this could be a coincidence, but this is what I thought.

Media coverage of this event reaches the “White” household, a.k.a. Lois and Clark from the Post-Crisis universe. After working in secret for years, Superman decides he can’t stand by and let Lex ruin the reputation of New 52 Superman.

He immediately heads to the bathroom and heat-visions his beard off. Here it looks like a shard of mirror that he uses, but originally it was a piece of the ship that brought him from Krypton. It seems like that changes depending on the creative team, but I thought it being from the ship made it more unique and special. Plus, why would he keep a broken piece of mirror around when he could just use the bathroom mirror?

The next page is Superman flying off, determined, with his family’s farmhouse below. Again, I am reminded of another classic Superman page.

This one is even further off than the Luthor page, but to me it evokes this classic scene and this particular version of the character. Thematically, it works as a rebirth of this character.

Now, I’m not saying Zircher is “ripping off” anybody. Let’s be clear. If anything, he is referencing iconic Superman moments and playing them off against this story. Also, this could just be me reading too much into this after reading what anyone would describe as “too many” comic books.

Superman confronts Luthor publicly and lets him know what’s up. They get into a fight with Luthor unleashing the capabilities of his new super-suit. Throughout the battle, Luthor persists that PC Superman, is not the “real” (New 52) Superman.

Then, Clark Kent shows up.

This doesn’t seem to be a super-powered being, but just a normal Clark Kent. There is no explanation as to how Clark is here. After being outed, everyone knows that Kent is Superman and therefore is dead. With like, 5 panels of an appearance, I’m not sure what is going on with Clark. If I got to pick, this would be a resurrected, powerless New 52 Superman who gets to live a normal life while PC Superman takes over as protector. This could be a hero’s story that gets a happy ending.

Meanwhile, the thieves from the beginning are having trouble with the coffin that they stole. The craft they are flying with it on explodes and something “KRAMM”s to the ground. The final page reveals Doomsday in his containment suit from his original appearance.

Overall, I really liked this book. I like the team on this and the story brought up a lot of intriguing elements. Luthor is sure to be sticking around in his super-suit. They have been promoting that too much for it to just be in this one issue. It should be interesting to see how he and Superman co-exist in Metropolis. What’s the deal with Clark Kent showing up? It’s not going to be what I detailed earlier, so it better be good. Is Doomsday showing up still a good cliffhanger or am I just old? Either way, I liked it.

A relaunch is always a good time to pick up Superman comics so I will probably keep picking up Action Comics.